ND Catholic Conference responds to heartbeat ban abortion ruling

Christopher Dodson, Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, has issued the following statement on yesterday’s ruling striking down the fetal heartbeat ban:

Yesterday U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland, struck down North Dakota’s prohibition on abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.

Though unfortunate, the ruling was expected. The current holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court make it difficult to protect human life before the vague and subjective “viability” stage. No matter what reason abortion advocates conjure up, viability, unlike a heartbeat, tells us nothing about the humanity of the unborn child and should not be used to determine whether a child can live or die.

As frustrating as the U.S. Supreme Court holdings can be, North Dakotans should know that out-of-state abortion rights groups are trying to get state courts to grant a right to abortion that is even greater than the right found by the U.S. Supreme Court. In fact, they have already convinced a judge in Fargo to help with their agenda.

The only way to stop this radical agenda to strike down North Dakota’s common sense laws is to pass the Human Life Amendment in November. The amendment was placed on the ballot by a bipartisan vote of the state legislature to protect our existing common sense laws, provide a foundation for future laws based on North Dakota values, and stop judges from fabricating an unfettered right to abortion. To find out more, visit www.ndchooselife.org.